Parliamentary Ombudsman

The Parliamentary Ombudsman (, , ) is an authority in Finland, in Sweden and Iceland, charged with the supervision of the public authorities. The terms JO (Justitieombudsmannen) in Swedish, EOA (Eduskunnan oikeusasiamies) in Finnish and Umboðsmaður Alþingis in Icelandic all refer to the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen and to an individual Ombudsman.

Sweden

Sweden has had an Ombudsman Institution since 1809. At that time Sweden was ruled by the King and therefore the Riksdag, which then represented the Four Estates, considered that some institution that was independent of the King was needed in order to ensure that laws and statutes were observed. For this reason it appointed a Parliamentary Ombudsman and still continues to do so. The first Ombudsman was appointed in 1810, and the Parliamentary Ombudsmen still follow the basic principles that have applied since then.

Jurisdiction

A complaint to the JO (Justitieombudsmannen) - or to the Parliamentary Ombudsmen (Riksdagens ombudsmän) which is the official name of the Institution - can be made by anybody who feels that he or she or someone else has been treated wrongly or unjustly by a public authority or an official employed by the civil service or local government. (In other words a person need not be a Swedish citizen or have reached a certain age to be able to lodge a complaint.)

However, the Institution has no jurisdiction over the actions of members of the Swedish Riksdag (Parliament), the government or...
Read More